Without camera footage, court acquitted man charged with false testimony
An appeals court in Pardubice acquitted a 42-year-old man who was convicted by a lower court of lying about alleged police violence. The key piece of evidence – a video from the police car – was missing.
Without camera footage, court acquitted man charged with false testimony
The regional appeals court in Pardubice has quashed the ruling by which a 42-year-old man was convicted of perjury. The incident took place on Christmas Eve 2024 in Svitavy, when a patrol was transporting an intoxicated man to a sobering-up centre. He claimed that the police officers had beaten him inside the vehicle during the journey.
The detainee had nearly three parts per thousand of alcohol in his blood. He described how one police officer hit him twice in the face with his fist, whilst another, sitting beside him on the rear seat, allegedly struck him with his elbow and fist in the face. Both uniformed officers, however, denied any physical contact. There was no one else in the vehicle who could have independently described the situation.
The lower court sided with the police and convicted the man of making false accusations. In addition to a suspended sentence previously imposed for a different offence, he was sentenced to one year and four months in prison without the possibility of deferment. However, the convicted man appealed, as he considered the sentence excessive.
The appeals panel decided differently. It was missing a crucial piece of evidence – a video recording from the police vehicle, which could have resolved the conflict between the contradictory testimonies. Judge Petr Žanda stated in his reasoning that it cannot be proved whether the man actually lied. Without photographic material, which was not being recorded at that time, everything remained unverified assertions.
The defence counsel requested that the file be supplemented with these recordings. When it transpired that they were not available, the panel acquitted the man of the charges. Žanda noted that the defendant attempted to add objectivity to the entire matter and admitted to mistakes in his behaviour. He was aggressive in hospital and threatened the police officers, which, however, does not prove that nothing happened in the car.
The General Inspection of Security Corps investigated the case but ultimately dropped it. An appeal against the appeals court's decision can be lodged with the Supreme Court in Brno.
Source: Novinky.cz
Source: Novinky.cz